Baby Stands Too Soon

OK, let me start by saying I love it when babies are in that stage where you can set them somewhere and surround them with toys and they happily, safely play while you do whatever you need to do. MY BABY SKIPPED THIS STAGE!!! I don't know what happened. One day he started sitting up and within a few more days he was dragging himself around the room. Fast forward a few weeks and he got a little speedier with the dragging thing. A few days ago he started pulling himself up to a standing position whenever he finds something to grab (chairs, toy basket, couch). Today I have caught him standing (twice) WITHOUT HOLDING ANYTHING! He's sporting bruises all over his forehead as a result of his ambitiousness. The kid just turned seven months on Sunday! I'm scared that I have another climber/daredevil in the making...

Crazy Old Guy

Yesterday we visited a farm/pumpkin patch down the street from our house. At the last minute I talked the whole family into coming--Nana, Bompa, cousins. There were several fun things that happened, but the crazy old guy who drives the hay ride was the best. He dresses the part in clown-type, mismatch clothes with quite a button collection displayed on his vest. I thought he was super cute, so I had everyone cheer when he came over to take us on the ride. He asked us if we wanted music on our ride. YES, bring it on. The music came from a huge boom box strapped to the back of his tractor seat. (He had to rewind the cassette tape from the previous ride!) Off we went. When the hokey pokey came on the radio, he stood up and STARTED DOING THE MOVES. While driving the tractor! It was a "NO HANDS" situation. I would have taken a picture, but I was too busy holding on for dear life. My bro-in-law said we were going to have "...a Man in the Moon situation any minute." Remember that movie where the kid gets run over by the tractor because he let go?

Baby L didn't think the whole "picture thing" was all that fun! I loved the old rusty wagons.

R couldn't decide on a pumpkin. He had a big one, small one, big one, small one. He ended up with this one. (Only because I told him it was time to go.)Here's the gang prior to our wild ride.

They have lots of animals on the farm that just walk around. You can walk right up and pet them. What a treat for the kids!

Baby News

Did that title surprise ya? You thought I was having another baby, didn't ya? Ahhhhh, no. We do have a baby in the house though and I want to write some news about him.

Our youngest lad is growing fast. He's almost 7 months. He weighed in yesterday at a pleasant 17 lbs. He has just the right amount of "rolls." He smiles ALL the time. He's crawling "army style" EVERYWHERE. I'm alarmed by his crawling/walking ambitions because he is ahead of my timetable. He's never content to be still, always trying to catch up to the big kids. He laughs a lot (again, at the big kids). His biggest challenge in life right now is that everyone thinks he's a girl. I've taken the measures of banning all white, yellow, mint green, etc. from his wardrobe lest we add to the confusion. I guess it's the hair (lovely, plentiful, very blond curls). EVERY TIME we're out someone comments on my baby girl. My three year old is growing more confused by the day since I don't bother to correct most people. (Why make an elderly person feel bad?)

All in all I think he's leading a happy life. We sure love having him around.

Goodbye 32!

I am mere days away from turning 33! Heehaw! I love to make a big deal out of anything I possibly can, (groans from family) so I've decided to make a big deal about the double digit thing. If you think about it, you only turn double digits 9 times in your whole life (if you're really lucky). So, have a guilt-free dessert on Saturday and think of me.

I've decided to do the following while I am 33...

*Read 33 books
*Try 33 new things (this could include learning something new, eating something new, going somewhere I've never been, etc.)
*Write 33 thank you notes
*Do 33 unusual acts of kindness/service
*Watch 33 movies from the AFI "Best Lists"

I will keep a tally of my progress on the sidebar.

A** Club

This one is worth a good laugh!!! My cutie daughter has started a club with the girls next door. They have an Official Notebook for said club. She brought out the Official Notebook and showed us the name of her club, the ASS club. That is what they came up with when they put their first initials together. Needless to say, we were hysterical with laughter. Poor thing, doesn't have a clue. I guess that's a good thing!!!

Pursuit of the Prize

We buy Trix yogurt. (It's fortified with vitamins, right?) S saw a commercial yesterday about a contest that Trix yogurt is sponsoring. ONE lucky winner will receive a $10,000 prize. I stress the word ONE. She is convinced that SHE is that person. She has already decided how she will share her prize: $100 for me, dad, R to share; $100 for her cousin; $100 for all the world's poor kids; the remainder for our American Girl trip. She spent all of yesterday discussing winning scenarios with me. She woke up VERY early this morning in order to quickly eat three yogurts before school. She only found "Sorry, try again." She told me not to tell anyone else about this contest (so, shhhh) and to buy all the Trix yogurt that I can find in all the stores around town. Wish her luck!

School Daze

School has started again and boy am I tired. I thought it would be easier having one less child at home, but the pace seems to have picked up. Plus, my otherwise perfect baby has decided NOT to sleep anymore! Can't a girl catch a break?

I think this might be the last year I'm able to choose the official first day of school outfit (wipe a tear). I encountered some unexpected resistence this year. I thought the apple skirt was just precious, but darling daughter didn't want to wear a skirt (someone might spy the undies).

I got the idea for the "first day of school bracelet" from my thoughtful friend, Julie. S has worn it all six days that she's been to school. Unfortunately, it was not an expensive piece of jewelry and it is turning a funny color. I think we'll have to buy a nicer one...

Green Eggs and Ham

(Post from Saturday)

I always struggle with making lunch. Usually lunch is me opening things and slapping them on plates in an assembly line fashion (i.e. string cheese, fruit cups, Goldfish crackers, etc.) I don't like to make a hot lunch because it takes too much time and makes a mess that I don't want to clean up. I occasionally venture out to heat a can of soup, make cheese quesadillas, or box macaroni and cheese. That's me "going out on a limb." Incidentally, if you have any fun lunch ideas, please post in the comments section. I'm thinking EASY, fast...

So today the kids asked me to make "green eggs and ham." Hmmmm, I thought. Interesting idea. I could do that. Add a little food coloring...we have ham...I think it will work. So, I set about this task feeling like a SUPER DUPER creative mommy. And our little adventure even involves a classic piece of literature. How could this not be the most educational, awesome experience? They will remember this for years and tell their friends how their mom made the cutest little lunches.

I am a very visual person, and I have to admit that when I added the food coloring to the eggs my stomach did lurch a little. My thought was, "The kids won't think this is gross though. They'll love it." As I put the green eggs on the plates, I began to have doubts. It looked royally disgusting. Sure enough, the kids staged a Dr. Seuss revolt. They were practically crying when I told them they would have to eat it. After all, I wasn't going to make ANOTHER LUNCH. They did eat it (mostly), but told me that I don't have to make it again.